Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Pat laughed. He climbed on his bike. On the way to whoever this guy was, they passed the fabric store. He was tempted to stop and check on Ava to see how she was doing.
Pat knew he had taken her by surprise, and she didn’t get a chance to answer his question. He wanted to fuck her. For a moment, he had thought about just being the good guy, playing the gentleman, but he’d be denying who he was.
There was a gentleman in there, but when it came to Ava, he wanted to do a lot of dirty things to her. He wanted to play with her, have some fun.
He liked that Rusty hadn’t touched her. But he wanted to touch her. He wanted to fuck her and wipe out every single memory of any other guy she had been with. Pat had never felt this way about a woman before. This is why he kept going to the coffee shop. Sure, the coffee was nice, the cake was delicious, but that didn’t compare to the company and the visual pleasure he got from watching Ava.
So, the guy on the paperwork claimed to be Samuel Johnson. Pat didn’t know if it was a made-up name or a genuine name. It also didn’t matter because the guy had paid in cash, not card.
The journey took them to an old trailer park, just inside the boundary of Carnage. He brought his bike to a stop as Rusty joined him.
“Isn’t this where Grant saw that Miguel guy?” Rusty asked.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I thought this place was closed down after the fires torched a couple of them.”
“It was, but I’m guessing it was opened again.”
“Yeah, obviously.”
There were only half a dozen trailers. Most of them seemed covered in dirt. A few had moss growing on the outside. There was no sign of the original color of any of the trailers.
Parking their bikes in the main field, there were six trailers with numbers on them. According to the paperwork, Samuel lived in trailer 206. Two, zero, six. It was the trailer closest to them.
Pat moved in close as did Rusty. He slammed his hand on the door and waited. Rusty had already checked to make sure there was no way out.
He slammed his hand on the door again, and no one answered. He gripped the handle, expecting it to be difficult to open. It wasn’t. There was no lock on the door.
He looked toward Rusty, who had already discreetly pulled out his piece. Pat did the same, keeping it hidden from any prying eyes.
Stepping into the trailer, he noticed the horrendous smell. Dirty dishes were piled up against the sink. Used car parts, empty beer bottles, uneaten takeout on every surface.
Pat looked in the corner and saw this body covered in ink on perfect display, only it had a syringe needle right through the center of one arm. On the table were lines of what looked like cocaine. Blood came out of the man’s nose, and there might have been some coming out of his mouth.
“He didn’t do this to himself,” Rusty said.
“No, he didn’t, which means there is a potential hit man in town,” Pat said.
He pulled out his cell phone and started to dial Bull. That was when he heard the ticking.
“What the fuck is that?” Rusty asked.
Pat stepped closer to the table, and it was then he saw a single word had been written in the drugs: Soon.
“Get out,” Pat said.
He and Rusty got out of the trailer and were running toward their bikes when they were thrown to the ground, and ringing filled Pat’s ears.
The trailer had a bomb, and it had just been detonated.
****
Ava’s feet hurt from spending all day on them at the fabric shop, and now as she worked on Saturday night at the coffee shop. There were a lot of late working locals, who were talking about the trailer blowing up. She was only paying half a mind to the story. Listening to gossip was not something she liked to do.
She served coffee, listened to people talk, sliced cake, served up cinnamon rolls. She checked on Lauren, who was cleaning the kitchen and seemed quite happy in her little world.
Ava was happy. Only, she had yet to see Pat. It was still a little early. As the hours ticked on, and ten o’clock rolled by, she had a feeling he was not going to come. By two in the morning, it was time to close shop. Lauren thanked her, and they closed together.
Ava got into her car and drove back home, where she got Bernice. She was tempted to stay at her mother’s, but she really needed to get back to her apartment. Driving home, she parked, and then walked with Bernice to the main building. Typing in her code, she walked in and went straight to the elevator. Bernice stepped inside with her, and they made their way up to the third floor where she lived. She couldn’t stand heights. The third floor was far enough off the ground for her.